Private Painful introductions

[Xobos Yakieer]

Location: Beacon Manor, Garde Noire, Illyria
Equipment: Illyria Knight Armor, Knight Saberstaff, Miralukan Eye Mask
Time of day: Evening
Tags: | Shae |

To say that the weeks and days were starting to become shorter in Garde would be something Xobos could agree quite easily to. And not out of seasonal or yearly changes either, but more so the time felt as though it passed much quicker, much smoother. That’s what happened more often than not when someone became used to a daily routine, and Xobos was no exception.

The mornings typically began with a walk among the gardens of the manor. They always seemed able to clear and calm her mind before attending to the days business. They also managed to also always remind her of Leven Jeyd , filling her with a profound sense of sadness every time she thought about how much she missed the little changeling. One day she would be back, and one day they would begin their training anew.

As the day progressed, it would be filled with a flurry of activity in the morning within the manor itself. Training with Kol or Aym, most often than not both, could stretch long into the lunchtime hours, which was most often the first time she would get to see Cali, whom usually spent the morning deep in her work in the laboratories. But from that point, the Zeltron would rarely leave her side, especially as they progressed into the day and Xobos started toward the main town.

Afternoons were most often put together with affairs in the town itself. Inspections of new levels of the mines, allowing time for Cali to fix any equipment that had broken down, which more often than not lead to better production pre-breakdown, and planning meetings with the mining guild and Legget. They were growing, rapidly, but between them herself, the zeltron, and the guild’s leader, they were well on top of the growth that was happening and would be ready for any surprises that popped up in their territory.

At least that’s what Xobos thought on this evening. Having just left a long meeting with Legget, and a desire to get to the manor where she would get to relax after a long days work, she couldn’t shake a feeling beginning to itch at the back of her head. It wasn’t her apprentices or anyone else nearby. They had all retired and Cali was in the capital for the night. No, no this was something different. Something…awful feeling.

“Ma’am?” It was Hin’s voice, coming from the comm attached to her belt that broke her attention from the feeling and back to reality.

Removing the comm from her belt, the Sieur continued her walk up the path back to the manor, she brought it up where her voice would come through clear to her personal pilot and security chief. “Yes, Hin? I know it’s late, but I am star-“

“No, ma’am, that’s not it.” He cut her off, his voice coming through with a bit of desperation and anxiety, having obviously been in the middle of some sort of happening. “A ship landed on our platform. Guards found..a woman inside. She’s hurt. Quite badly, actually. You should probably get back here.”

There was no quick response from Xobos this time. Turns out the feeling had come to fruition quicker than expected. But just because there was no answer quickly did not mean the Sieur didn’t quicken her pace toward the manor.

“Stabilize her. I shall be there shortly.”

What an interesting evening this was going to turn out to be.

 

[Shae]

L O C A T I O N | Almost Crashing into Beacon Manor
W E A R I N G | Torn Version Of - [X]

Shae’s personal shuttle shook erratically as it zipped across the surface of Illyria at full speed. How stupid she had been. All the signs had pointed to disaster from minute one. She had just been foolish enough to ignore them. Enamoured by a hefty paycheck for a few hours of uncomfortable work.

All it had taken was for her to let her guard down for a split moment. To accept the glass of blood-red wine he offered out with a smile on his face. To put her trust in the fact that it was just as he had said. Wine. The moment the first sip had slipped passed her lips, Shae knew a mistake had been made. There was something off about the taste. Acrid where it should not have been, and sweet where she did not expect it. If her hesitation in responding to his question was not enough of a sign that she had figured it out, then the expression on her face was.

Sudden panic.

Her limp arms did their best to correct the trajectory of her shuttle, narrowly avoiding the peak of a mountain. The events were so vivid in her mind. The sound of the glass shattering as it hit the marble floor. Her feet struggling to find purchase against the wine-soaked slabs. The warmth on her back as he wrapped his arm around her throat. The fight had lasted what felt like forever but was in actuality three adrenaline-filled minutes. Shae had seen to it that he came off worse, of course, but she had not escaped entirely injury-free either.

There was a welt on her eye that would no doubt mirror the shades of Illyrian Royalty perfectly in a day or so. Each time she fought for control of the shuttle a sickening crunching sound came from her wrist. A sharp pain radiated across her left side, from the top of her hip to the base of her neck. There was a sizable gash in her head that dripped a mess of sticky crimson liquid into her eyes. Not to mention the numerous scrapes and cuts and bruises across the rest of her porcelain skin. At least she was alive. Her biggest problem now was finding somewhere to land before whatever that sicko had spiked her with took hold.

Just as her vision began to fade out, the flat concrete expanse of a landing pad emerged on the horizon. Shae celebrated in the form of a hoarse cry of delight, though there was nobody there to hear her. Using the last of her remaining strength she flicked on the autopilot and sent out a distress signal in lieu of her voice. With her body growing heavier, Shae was forced to let it slump down against the console. The autopilot would handle the rest.

Right now, sleep was calling, and she was growing hard-pressed to ignore its pleas.

 

[Xobos Yakieer]

Location: Azurine Capitol City, Illyria, Royal Docking Yards
Equipment: Illyria Knight Armor, Knight Saberstaff, Miralukan Eye Mask
Time of day: Evening
Tags: | Shae |

It was a wonder that the woman was honestly able to land the ship at all, from what Xobos had heard.

Landing the ship might’ve been an exaggeration. By the time Hin had gotten to the landing pad, there were a pair of long scratches into the metal of the pad where the ship had dragged before finally coming to a stop. Not exactly the most graceful of things, but at least the ship hadn’t crashed into the water tower or any of the fuel pumps. What did catch Hin’s eye about the ship was the numerous burn marks on the ship itself. Whomever had stolen this ship had either gotten away from a firefight, or dragged the ship from a place where it had been in plenty of battles. He leaned toward the former, at least based on the injuries it looked like the girl inside had sustained.

The journey back to the manor took a few minutes for the Miraluka, despite her rushed pace to be back quickly to find out just what was going on. Garde life was quiet to say the very least. Something like this didn’t occur often at all, and the last time a ship had come crashing down into the town, it not only destroyed a granary storage, but poured out a large number of pirates who raided the town and massacred a number of her civilians before they were able to stop them. At least this time the ship decided it wanted to land at her manor and not in the middle of her town.

Xobos didn’t even make it to the landing pad before a group of medical officers went rushing by with what looked to be a young woman laying out on the stretcher in between them. Hin followed closely behind, but stopped when he noticed the Sieur standing in the middle of the hall. “Excitable day, hm?” Sabatora gave a little, throat grunt of response toward the man. There were still times were Xobos though some part of the dead sith’s visage still resided in the Maalraas, and moment’s like it seemingly responding to the pilot did nothing to quell that thought train.

Still, Xobos focused her mind on the moment, turning to follow the medics down the hall. “Sometimes I wish it wouldn’t be. Still…lets try and get some answers, shall we?” Flashing the pilot and security officer a small smile, Xobos hastened her pace to try and make it to the medical center before whomever this was put into a bacta tank.

It didn’t look like that they would be getting any answers soon, however. By the time the Seiur and pilot made it into medcenter, various lines were already being hooked into the woman’s skin to monitor what vitals she had. Probably better, after all. Xobos could wait, even if it would be a few hours until the woman was in any sort of state to actually do so.

 

[Shae]

T A G | Xobos Yakieer ​

​

Shae had woken up for a brief moment when the ship had hit the landing pad rather bumpily, but after that, she knew nothing but darkness. The faint sound of panicked voices. Then silence. It was an incredibly peaceful silence. The kind that Shae only knew when she got to sleep on her own ship, in her own bunk, with nothing but the empty blackness of space to hear her thoughts. If this was death, she welcomed it gladly. It was far more tranquil than she could have imagined, and if she put any salt at all into any kind of afterlife, Shae had imagined that it wouldn’t have been pleasant. At least, not for her.​

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A bright fluorescent light cut through Shae’s eternal darkness sharply. The young woman groaned and attempted to lift her arm to shield herself, but nothing was working properly. After an exploratory wiggle of her fingers, Shae confirmed she could move those at the very least. There were just a bunch of wires and threads tethering the rest of her arm into place. “Urgh…” Her hoarse voice croaked out, dry and parched from the heavy but healing sleep. There was no point trying to sit up, so Shae settled for the next best thing.​

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She opened her eyes.​

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The first thing she saw was a hazy outline of square tiles lining the ceiling. They had an oddly familiar pattern, but Shae couldn’t place it. At least, not until she turned her blurry gaze to the rest of the room. A bed, a mint green sheet covering her slender body, a machine that beeped incessantly. She was in a hospital. Chancing a glance at the arm she had attempted to move, she realised what had been pinning her down. A thin rubber tube stretching from a needle embedded into her skin to a bag filled with bright yellow fluid. Shae closed her eyes again and let out a deep sigh.​

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The memory of the night before came flooding back in a rush of disinfectant scented air. The house. The man. The wine. The sour taste. The fight. The escape. The crash. Everything.​

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When she opened her eyes again, she became keenly aware of something akin to instinct nibbling at the back of her dazed mind. As though someone was watching her. Without turning too quickly, or too much, Shae did a second sweep of the room.​

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That was when she finally landed on the Miraluka, sitting quietly in the corner all mask and mystery. Shae did her best to smile through her swollen features, but it must have looked awful considering it was followed up with a wince and a groan of pain. It must have been the medication coursing its way through her veins because Shae then had the incredibly intelligent idea to speak. “I'm awfully sorry for dropping by unannounced.” Her sugar-sweet tone cracked out. “I hope I didn’t cause too much damage to your landing pad.” She followed it with what was supposed to be light laughter, but it came out as a sharp wheeze of discomfort.​

 

[Xobos Yakieer]

Location: Azurine Capitol City, Illyria, Royal Docking Yards
Equipment: Illyria Knight Armor, Knight Saberstaff, Miralukan Eye Mask
Time of day: Evening
Tags: | Shae |

One of the first places Xobos had renovated within the manor grounds was the medical center. It had been a run down, archaic room before she had gotten there, barely able to treat a infected cut much less the kind of injuries that might occur from training with her apprentices or on a mission for her master. Brand new equipment was brought in, well trained and good natured doctors as well. Supplies fit for an army and useful for her purposes stored safely away. It was a good room now, and Xobos was more than thankful that she had done such a thing as the woman was wheeled into the medcenter, placed upon one of the gurneys, and the doctors got to work treating her injuries.

Personally, she had no experience handling injuries, and would’ve certainly gotten only in the way. She stepped back, content to allow the doctors to do the work she had hired them to do, all the while keeping a careful gaze fixed directly to the uninvited guest of the estate. Nothing held within her heart or mind that the woman meant any sort of harm, but an unknown person being introduced to her estate was something to keep an eye on, even as she laid upon a gurney halfway down the trip to the nether.

Eventually, one of the doctors stepped to the side, pulling Xobos with him. The grizzled man, Dr. Hatcher, gave the Sieur a bow of the head before starting what he had found. “We have her stabilized and painkillers are starting to run through her system. When she does wake up, it should help curb the pain she will no doubt be feeling. Among her injures were..” He paused, long enough to pull a datapad off his hip and begin to list off all of the various things the woman had gone through. “There are multiple lacerations to her quads, thighs, upper arms, and even a few to her face and neck. She’s bruised in multiple places, and the markings seem to indicate she was in some sort of fistfight. The toxicology report is still to come back, but I don’t doubt that there will be at least some alcohol found in her system, judging by the wine stains we found on her dress.”

It was a gruesome scene to be sure, one that had no end to the question it had begun. Xobos was happy that the woman had been able to make it to Illyria, though in the back in her mind, she wondered if anyone would be coming after the girl soon enough. Perhaps it would have been a good idea to amp up the security in the estate for the time being. She turned back to the doctor, gave him a soft thank you, and returned to her sat position, awaiting the time when some questions might be able to be answered.

The opportunity would arise a few hours later, as shae began to wake up naturally. Her voice caught xobos’ attention, pulling her from a mediative state that she had been in during the entire time. Standing, she moved to stand by her bedside, smiling softly at her injured guest’s attempt at a joke. “There will be some scratches to buff out..however, your ship has more damage than my pad, I can assure you.” Whoever this woman was, she was still very hurt, and the last thing that xobos wanted was raise her blood pressure or put her on edge. Better to keep as a calm as possible.

But Xobos did need answers, and she started with a simple enough pair of questions in her mind. “What is your name…and why are you on Illyira now?”

 

[Shae]

T A G | Xobos Yakieer ​

​

Shae followed that shadow as it crawled up from the foot of the bed until it encased her completely in hazy darkness. Her gaze turned up to look at the Miraluka. It was easier to pick out the details in her face, now she was closer. Narrowing her swollen eyes, Shae could not help but feel a striking sense of familiarity in the wrought mask that covered most of her face. Right now, she could not recall, but somewhere in the back of her mind Shae knew this was a woman of importance.​

​

A thin frown formed on her lips at the mention of her ship. She was already out a fair few credits, no thanks to the man who had given her bruises instead of payment. This wasn’t going to sit pretty with her already emptying coffers. Still, at least she was alive.​

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“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She responded instinctively when the Miraluka asked for her name. Immediately, Shae looked up at her and shot her an apologetic smile. The mixture of the pain from her wounds and the medication coursing through her veins was a terrible basis for socialisation. “Sorry.” She added quickly when she came to her senses again. “My name is Shae.” Feeling a little more awake than a few moments ago, Shae tried sitting up again.​

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Now she was aware of the wires and tubes embedded into her skin, it was far easier.​

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“I was already on Illyria.” Beginning the tale with an answer to her original question. “I had a meeting with a client that didn’t end as well as I’d hoped, for either of us.” She shot the Miraluka a quick side glance. It was dangerous to admit something like this to a near-perfect stranger, but Shae assumed that the Miraluka was the one who had been kind enough to fix her up. Kindness like that deserved honesty. “He’s a minor noble in Azurine City… Brax Olson. Someone should probably make sure he’s okay too.” When she finished she gathered herself for a second or two and then compiled her own questions to ask back.​

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"Where on Illyria are we? And who are you?" ​

 

[Xobos Yakieer]

Location: Azurine Capitol City, Illyria, Royal Docking Yards
Equipment: Illyria Knight Armor, Knight Saberstaff, Miralukan Eye Mask
Time of day: Evening
Tags: | Shae |

The slightest of chuckles escaped through the thin lipped Seiur at the broken woman’s painful little quip, giving Xobos reason to shake her head at the reaction. “I would to know, actually. Gives me a name to put on the bill of fixing the damage.” Of course there would be no bill, neither for the damage or the medical healing that this Shae had needed. If she was going to be playful, there was no reason that Xobos couldn’t tease right back toward her as well. Only managed to make things a bit more fun, after all, and make light of what was obviously a very painful and hurtful situation.

While the woman began to speak of her story, Xobos began to lean forward in interest. Whomever this woman was, or rather, what her business was, it had to do with the nobles in the city. Nobles like that were the same that she had hunted down relentlessly for months while King had disappeared for their connections to the slave market, something that was very, very illegal on Illyria. If this was yet another case of the slavery popping up again…seemed like her timetable was going to get very full again.

The last few words from Shae’s story prompted another chuckle from the Miraluka. “You will have to explain that, my dear. I can surmise that he is probably the reason you are so…beaten up, but I will want more information on what damage you think you did to him, and why this whole fight started in the first place.” Xobos would await those answers for when they came, but first, it seemed as though Shae wanted to know where exactly she was. At least she had figured out she hadn’t been able to make it off Illyira, and it wasn’t as though her providence was exactly the most prominent place on the map.

“You were able to pilot that ship quite a ways. It ended up in my providence, Garde Noire, and you actually managed to land it on the landing pad outside of my manor. As for who I am,” She shrugged, a slight smile peaking at her lips. No reason to hold back who she was or any sort of information. Shae didn’t exactly seem like the dangerous type. “My name is Xobos Yakieer, knight of Illyria, Sith Knight, and Sieur of the Garde Noire providence. You are in my home, Phare de château, in our medical center.” How long Shae would be here was more than certainly up in the air. Partially that depended on her, but it also depended on when Xobos was willing to let her go, and there were still quite a few answers that hung unanswered between them.

 

[Shae]

T A G | Xobos Yakieer

Shae managed to pull her cracked lips into a smile. At least the Miraluka had a sense of humour.

There were more reasons to be grateful for her than just the obvious too. Unlike many of the other people Shae had the misfortune to bump into in such a manner, the woman seemed to take a genuine interest in her explanation. Of course, she had every right to be furious at Shae, and she wouldn’t have been surprised if the quip about the bill was genuine. So far, however, she was rather placid about it all. Maybe she was rich, or maybe she simply didn’t care. Whatever it was, grateful didn’t even really begin to cover it.

“Well despite the circumstances of our meeting, it’s a great pleasure, Xobos Yakieer.” Shae nodded her head as best she could. “I can’t thank you enough for your kindness.” She stalled a little then, to debate on just how much of the truth she should reveal to this stranger. As far as she was aware, her activities weren’t illegal in Illyria. She always tried her best to make sure of that, but sometimes she missed things. Little nuisances in ancient laws or relic policies.

Clearing her throat and swallowing to attempt to rid herself of a dry patch, Shae finally spoke. “He drugged me. I could taste it in the wine. When I got up to leave, he tried to stop me and I wouldn’t let him.” Shae cast Xobos a poignant look. “He didn’t like that very much.” Adjusting herself a little on the bed, she released a soft groan of pain before carrying on. “He grabbed me from behind, I bit his arm. When he let go, I hit him over the head with whatever I could get my hands on. I don’t really remember what it was, but it was heavy. I always carry a knife so… that gave me enough time to get it. When he came for me again, I used it.”

Lifting up the arm that wasn’t bound by medical equipment, Shae pointed a finger at Xobos. It landed on the right side of her chest, between two lower ribs. “Right there.”

Her hand slipped back again, to the safety and warmth of the bedsheets. She didn’t seem at all phased by the fact that she had likely killed someone. Self-defence was a prominent part of her line of work, and she took it just as seriously as she took everything else. Otherwise, it would have been her lying on that cold marble floor covered in wine and blood. “I’m not going to pretend like I know how badly he’s injured. I left the moment he hit the floor. And then I got back on my ship. Granted, in hindsight, not the best idea after being drugged. But here I am.”

 

[Xobos Yakieer]

Location: Garde Noire, Beacon Castle
Equipment: Illyria Knight Armor, Knight Saberstaff, Miralukan Eye Mask
Time of day: Evening
Tags: | Shae |

Xobos’ head nodded down with the slightest hint of her smile peaking through. The circumstances of their meeting was quite interesting to say the very least, if not downright tragic. Shae was an intriguing character, but despite this, there was a doubt clouding Xobos’ mind that if the poor woman hadn’t landed hard on her landing pad she would never have come to meet her. The galaxy..the force worked in very mysterious ways. And it seemed as though the force was once again presenting her an opportunity to cleanse corruption from Illyira’s veins.

Hearing Shae attempt to clear her throat was enough to make Xobos rise from her seat and start over to where a pitcher of water sat near the corner of the room. She still listened to the story Shae told as she began to pour her a drink. It was probably a better sight to the woman to see little more than the Miraluka’s back, for as each word spilled from the woman’s mouth, the tighter of a line Xobos’ mouth pulled, and more the rage at the situation flowed from her mind. She was unsure of her guest’s connection to the force but at this moment it did not matter to her much whether or not she could feel the Sieur’s inner rage.

She was able to compose herself enough to finish pouring Shae her drink, turning to walk it over to the woman’s beside where she would then kneel beside once handing the water off. Allowing the woman to finish off her story, as well as point out where she had managed to stab her attacker, Xobos continued to nod along with a respectful look upon her face. The last thing Shae needed to feel at the moment was as though she had committed some heinous crime. Attacking a noble, perhaps leaving him dead, was…tricky, but there were ways around it. Or in Xobos’ case, straight through it.

“You have my assurance your business on this planet is not illegal. Keep this in mind.” Xobos knelt a bit closer to the woman’s bed, resting her forearms against it. “We do, however, need to figure out who this noble you attacked was. And whether or not they still live. I believe your story, yet you seem to have traveled around the galaxy plenty enough to understand how..hierarchy works. I wish to help you prove your story, because I fear that the men and woman of this planet would not look….kindly upon you for harming a noble.”

It was a hard truth to speak, and probably an even harder one for Shae to swallow. But to keep her in the dark about her situation would be more cruel than anything else Xobos could do. She believed in Shae’s innocence, they just had to be able to prove it. “How I see it..the noble that attacked you has two options. He can pass off what happened as nothing more than an accident to save his own pride and embarrassment….or he could try and hunt you down, bring you to some sort of twisted justice. Attempted murder and theft of his ship, most likely, all in a pursuit of mending his damaged pride.” The Seiur’s face pulled into a thoughtful one, coinciding with her slowly rising to her feet and starting to pace the bedside of her guest. “At the moment..I cannot hazard a guess as to which it will be. From the short time you knew him……what do you think?”

 

[Shae]

T A G | Xobos Yakieer

Shae, despite Xobos’ measured expression the entire time she spoke, knew something was off. So much so, that when the Miraluka stood to pour a glass of water, Shae allowed herself a private moment of panic.

As she pressed on with her story, her panic was drowned out by something else entirely. Rage. Shae had neither the energy nor the mind for the intensity of anger that now filled the small hospital room. It burned impossibly bright. So much so that Shae could feel it stinging in the pit of her stomach. She glanced nervously at the back of the Sieur. She was the only possible source. Was she angry at the noble for his actions against Shae? Or, was she angry at Shae for her actions against the noble? It was impossible to tell.

The moment Xobos turned back, water in hand, the rage disappeared. As did Shae’s panicked features. Despite Shae not being entirely sure whether she could see her or not, she did not want to give too much of herself away. Not now that she was aware of something amiss. Accepting the water with a grateful nod, she drowned her concerns in deep, thirst-quenching sips. Water had never tasted so good before. When she had drained at least half the glass, she turned her gaze back to the Sieur.

There was a look of relief on her face the moment she began to speak. Of course, Shae was already aware it was not illegal, but it was nice to hear it from a reputable source. However, what she followed with was less than pleasing. On most worlds she frequented, self-defence was not frowned upon, no matter the station or wealth of the attacker. Aristocracies were a new line of work for her, granted, but could it possibly be as backwards as that?

At the mention of a ship, Shae snapped her whole head toward Xobos. “That’s my ship.” She interjected pointedly. “I have proof.” Shae had worked her fingers to the bone for that ship. Granted, it was quality enough for Xobos to assume that it belonged to a noble instead, but she would be dammed if she lost it to that foul-mouthed, bad-tempered ape. “You’ll find the coordinates of his estate on the navigation log.” Raising her arm as best she could, she flipped it over palm up. Bringing her forearm to her lips, she blew gently against the skin on her wrist.

It took a moment or two to appear fully, but when it did, she revealed it to Xobos. Inked into her pale flesh was a white tattoo of the word Crone-H in elegant script. “That’s the password to the console. You’ll need it.” Once the Sieur had taken a good look, Shae allowed her arm to fall. “As for what I assume he will do…” She paused for a moment to adjust herself on the pillows, and to give herself time to think. “He’s far too egotistical to allow the other nobles to think he has to pay for the services I give. Never mind the fact that he allowed someone of my stature to overwhelm him.” She stated bluntly. “I hope, if he’s alive, he would rather this whole incident is kept quiet.”

Of course, Shae couldn’t say for sure. She had been surprised before, in the nastiest of ways. The look Shae gave to Xobos after she had finished speaking said exactly that.